CINCINNATI: Despite skepticism from various media sources, Procter & Gamble's Old Spice insists the "Mano a Mano in El Baño" campaign is a success, and it has the numbers to back it up.

The campaign, which began on July 20 and ended yesterday, featured the brand's Fresh Collection in a viral video battle between “Old Spice Guy” Isaiah Mustafa and Italian model Fabio, who wanted to claim Mustafa's position.

PainePR, which has represented Old Spice for 10 years, said that as of Wednesday, July 27, the campaign received 60,000 mentions on YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and other available RSS feeds, while reaching more than 60 million people in the digital world.

The videos on Fabio's website also generated close to 8 million views and 2,780 comments on YouTube, and his Twitter handle @fabiooldspices currently has over 8,000 followers. His four television commercials also received over 4.4 million views.

Erin Georgieff, managing director at PainePR, said the social media numbers are continuing to grow.

“The point of the campaign is to connect with consumers and bring the Old Spice messaging for the Fresh Collection to them in a unique, engaging way,” said Mike Norton, director of external relations for male grooming at P&G. “Someone judging the campaign without really looking at the objectives and what the campaign is meant to do is probably not getting a complete picture.”

Working with ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, PainePR has helped Old Spice connect with consumers and build brand awareness through a variety of media platforms. Wieden+Kennedy handles digital marketing for the company, and PainePR focuses on reaching consumers and media outlets through both traditional and digital channels.

With the campaign officially over, Mustafa, who was named the winner, and Fabio will be doing a number of interviews and follow-ups in print, online, and on television.

“You'll continue to see Old Spice coming up with clever and humourous ways to engage with our consumers,” Norton added.